The founding of Portage, by Frederick Jackson Turner (1883)

History of the "Grignon Tract" on the Portage of the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers

The portage that connected the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers was first described in 1673, and for the next 200 years this short stretch of land occupied a central position in Wisconsin history. Nearly all goods flowing into the upper Mississippi region and all furs flowing out of it passed across this tract of land. In this article for his hometown newspaper, young Frederick Jackson Turner (1861-1932) unravels its early history in French and American records. This is the first published research by the Wisconsin historian who would later write "The Significance of the Frontier in American History."